Vetnews | Oktober 2024 4 « BACK TO CONTENTS There are few words like AI, Machine Learning, and ChatGPT to scare the wits out of people. It is as if what we always saw in Science fiction movies has caught up with us and it is borderline scary. When I studied Computer Science back in 1989 to 1991 ( yes premillennium we had computers too and we learned about them and we learned to work them), we already learned about machine learning, firmware that could change or program itself according to input or circumstances. Little did we realise how powerful this would become. Who tried to communicate with the ever-increasing Bots. Almost every service website now resorts to so-called Robots to handle our queries. It is very frustrating when you cannot seem to find the correct machine vocabulary to get an answer out of these machine brains. I have tried a few: on my Bank – no success, with Eskom (I now have a close relationship with a little chatbot called Alfred) no success. But then I had to get proof of my SARS number. Dreading this, I logged onto my e-filing and was given Lwazi as an option. I simply typed in “tax number required” and a form was dropped in my email box. I was blown out of the water. Success at last, Lwazi definitely had ‘knowledge’ as the Nguni translation indicated. It would be interesting to draw the line between what can be done mechanically (because that is all these clever computers can do), and what can only be done by a human. Machines can only do what humans tell them to do, and machine learning is trial and error. Still, the answers to problems have to be provided by a human. Machines do not have a sixth sense. It cannot see the bigger picture, it can only test one scenario at a time, if it succeeds it may ‘remember’ the problem and correct solution. It may do problem-solving a little quicker than man but it cannot be creative. In the magazine, I have included some articles on Artificial intelligence. Something that is still eyed with some suspicion but something I think that can make life easier. The article on Telemedicine in Covid-19 is a good example. In a way, we may always have practised a little telemedicine by advising over the phone. Do we have to reinvent the wheel every time we do something unfamiliar to us, or can we cut through the chase and get to the point quicker? Think of blood analysis machines that can spit out an answer that was previously done by humans and took a lot longer time to solve. ChapGPT is a bit of a contentious issue for me. I am still a ‘cook from scratch’ person and like to create my own content, whether it is baking or writing a note like this. I like to do research and let the creative juices flow. But, I think there is a time and place for everything. My daughter is doing an MBA and one of their main criteria is plagiarism. They have tools (built by people) that will assess the assignment and give a score. Sadly, it has come to this, but it is so easy to find and copy and paste the works of others on the topic. Nearly everything is found in one or the other electronic form which enables us to search for specifics but also copy it. I hope you enjoy the jam-packed magazine. Look out for the more futuristic articles on AI and how it can assist the veterinary world. Andriette v From the Editor Editor’s notes / Redakteurs notas
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